Finally, tags for FireFox!

[Enrico Zini]

On Tue, Dec 06, 2005 at 05:22:28PM -0500, Benjamin Mesing wrote:

> Btw. yesterday I thought about a tagged filesystem. Not this database
> stuff everyone is coming up with now. But wouldn't a real file system
> with tags for files instead of directories be a nice idea --
> disregarding the fact that it would probably be a nightmare to work with
> current Operating Systems which so much rely on their directory
> structure...

I've been dreaming about it as well.  I've even thought a bit of the
implementation: one could do something using FUSE, and mount it in a
subdirectory of $HOME.

It could be implemented on top of any host filesystem.  There can be the
normal directory hierarchy, and then one could tag directory entries and
find them also in a parallel tagged hierarchy:

Normal hierarchy
 /pippo
 /pippo/pluto
 /pippo/pluto/paperoga
 /pippo/paperino

Then I tag pippo as 'cippo' and pluto as 'lippo', and I would get
something like:

 /pippo
 /pippo/pluto
 /pippo/pluto/paperoga
 /pippo/paperino
 :cippo/pippo
 :cippo/pippo/pluto
 :cippo/pippo/pluto/paperoga
 :cippo/pippo/paperino
 :lippo/pluto
 :lippo/pluto/paperoga
 
Multiple tags can create an exponentially large (but virtual) hierarchy:
you would just go down directories starting with ':' as part of some tag
browsing.

Then, one can make it impossible to create files inside :tag directories
(no idea where to actually put the file in the host filesystem); however
moving a file into a :tag directory would leave it where it is, but tag
it.  Deleting a file from a :tag directory could remove the tags found
in its path.

This would actually be enough logic to build a prototype.  We can
discuss it a bit here, then either someone says "I'll try and build it"
or we can copy the final idea in the wiki.


Ciao,

Enrico

--
GPG key: 1024D/797EBFAB 2000-12-05 Enrico Zini <enrico at debian.org>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 189 bytes
Desc: Digital signature
Url : http://lists.alioth.debian.org/pipermail/debtags-devel/attachments/20051207/a4d44ae2/attachment.pgp